The Polar Express - St. Louis - And Hattie Makes Three

It’s not every day you get to go to the North Pole. We were so excited when we were invited to hop aboard the Polar Express and head to the North Pole to see the jolly man himself – Santa!

The Polar Express is now boarding in St. Louis and you can come along for the fun. Many seats are still available, but I would encourage you to think about one of their Hotel Packages. We were able to experience the Polar Express with the St. Louis Union Station Hotel Package and we had a blast! We just had to park once, and everything was in very short walking distance. We didn’t even bring a stroller.

It is recommended you arrive at least 30 minutes before your train leaves. It is also highly encouraged to arrive 60-90 minutes prior to the event because there are lots of fun activities to do inside Union Station. We went on the 6:30 train. You can find a lot of additional information on their website.

Once we got our boarding passes, we got a quick photo taken with our golden tickets and headed over to the trains. There were lots of opportunities for children’s activities like writing a letter to Santa. Miss H wasn’t quite big enough and knew the train was our hot ticket!

Once we arrived at the Boarding Area, we were placed in line in a heated tent to await the Conductor welcoming us onto the train. We were in the Glacier Gulch car which is the train where the conductor who welcomed you to the Polar Express was. There were three different levels of tickets, we were in First Class.

Once we boarded the train, we were greeted by the Elves and the Chefs who were on board to make our ride so much fun!

The conductor came by to take our tickets and greeted us. Miss H thought he was pretty fantastic. If you do decide to go, have your kiddos wear their jammies! Lots of Moms and Dads wore jammies too. We just weren’t that coordinated. All the elves thought Miss H was adorable in her elf jammies.

Once the train got rolling, we were offered hot, hot chocolate in a super fun mug and cookies! The whole time the elves and chefs and the conductor stopped by to make our magical journey extra special. There was so much fun holiday music and a little Frozen tossed in for good measure.

Like always, we wonder if Miss H is too young for these type of events. I would say she had an absolute blast. She had room to move around, loved her cookies and didn’t have to sit the entire time. And of course, she got to show off her dancing skills. Always a bonus when we get to experience fun events and she is age appropriate. I think if we took her again next year, she’d love it all over again.

Once the train left the station, The Polar Express was read. The Chefs walked throughout the cabin and let everyone see the book. Miss H enjoyed her cookie while the story was read.

The train ride is a 6 mile loop. When we knew we were getting close to the North Pole, Miss H sat with hubs so she could see outside. As we got closer there were more and more lights and then we saw Santa!

After a short stop, Santa boarded the train and to say hello to everyone. Santa also brought everyone a silver bell which Miss H loved! She wasn’t so sure about Santa, but I think she’ll come around.

See, I told you! She finally warmed up to him a little bit.

The train ride lasted an hour and once we were done, we headed back to the St. Louis Union Station Hotel and checked in. We opted to go a little fancy since it was a special night for Miss H and we had room service for dinner. Great kids menu! It looked as if Santa had been there beforehand though and left us a note and treats. We’ll definitely be adding the ornament to our tree when it goes up next week!

St. Louis Union Station Hotel was very accommodating. They had us stay in one of their newly renovated rooms and it was fantastic. They also offered a pack ‘n play for Miss H to sleep in but of course she wanted to be a big girl and have a pillow party on the big beds.

Checking in and checking out was a breeze and of course Miss H convinced the nice ladies to bring home a ridiculous amount of DoubleTree Cookies. They are so yummy and warm, she was quite the charmer! As we were waiting for hubs to bring the car around, we were able to catch the light show on the ceiling of the main room at the hotel. Miss H thought that was pretty cool. Wasn’t quite sure about the Nutcracker on the way out.

So there you have it, our fun City Staycation! If you’re on the fence, the hotel packages are really fun and a great way to make the Polar Express memorable and fun!

Some additional things to think about – Tickets are typically sold in sets of 2 or 4. That ways you get to sit with your friends and family – especially when you’re sitting in the Premium Cars with tables. The trains depart at 4:30, 6:30, and 8:30. Plan on extra time on both ends so you can enjoy all of the additional fun activities and don’t forget to stop by the merchandise booth for all of your Polar Express goodies! Great holiday items!

And Hattie Makes Three was given ticket to the event in exchange for our honest review. For more information check out the website and Facebook.

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The Polar Express – St. Louis

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